Annisquam 1897

Curator: So, here we have Martha Hale Harvey’s “Annisquam,” a gelatin-silver print made in 1897. Editor: It's like a whispered memory. Muted tones, hazy light… it evokes such stillness. It almost feels as though the scene is holding its breath. Curator: The composition is so deliberate. Harvey used the inherent qualities of photography to achieve very structured and almost classically balanced layout, playing with the light's tonality as much as the forms. The placement of the boats, each reflection mimicking its vertical rise, guides our eye to the settlement in the background. Editor: Those slender masts – they look like calligraphy against the sky. And that sepia tone! It lends this gorgeous patina, doesn't it? A romance… as if to say "things were perhaps slower then". It's interesting that she made a gelatin-silver print, which often are valued for image permanence, even though the soft-focus effect gives everything a somewhat ethereal feel, far removed from precision or definition. Curator: Yes, that's precisely it. Harvey moved easily within artistic circles advocating a new style of photography, and was dedicated to experimenting with "the artistic print". By controlling processes like image development and printing, she would strive to attain the same aesthetic status that painting already held. The soft focus evokes the influence of Impressionism in its painterly appearance, despite its being made using the "modern" photographic medium. This really blurred boundaries, don’t you think? It feels radical even now. Editor: Absolutely. And this single, toned palette pulls all elements into the frame in an absolutely brilliant, painterly and balanced style, even whilst seemingly lacking color! Curator: Considering the photograph’s meticulous composition, it is intriguing to consider the location depicted. The waters look relatively calm, suggesting it isn't right on the open sea, more a sheltered bay area with dwellings and some form of commercial maritime transport or recreational sailing. Editor: A place for daydreams, I suppose. One wonders about Harvey’s state of mind whilst composing such a balanced tableau, like she sought symmetry from that which may have been in chaos within. Curator: An intriguing notion. In any event, a beautiful work of both observation and quiet emotional impact. Editor: Agreed. It truly allows us to enter a world of a time long ago... or perhaps a space to inhabit and ponder how our own world now appears, but one day will exist only in an image too.